In a speech given Monday at The Brookings Institution, New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie slammed the war on drugs – calling it a well
intentioned failure – and praised recent New Jersey legislation that imposes a
year of mandatory treatment on first time non violent drug offenders as an alternative
to jail time.

Calling for a wider change from current law and order based
drug policy, Christie argued that not only does incarceration not deter drug
use, it also costs taxpayers more than more effective alternatives like
addiction treatment, saying, "It costs us $49,000 a year to warehouse a
prisoner in New Jersey state prisons last year. A full year of inpatient drug
treatment costs $24,000 a year."

And bringing kindness into the discussion, Christie called compassionate
programs that divert addicted offenders to treatment instead of prison congruent
with pro-life morality, saying, "If you're pro-life, as I am, you can't be
pro-life just in the womb. Every life is precious and every one of God's
creatures can be redeemed, but they won't if we ignore them."